Hundred swept to their deaths by Kashmir floods

Flash floods have killed 103 people and injured 370 in the remote mountainous Ladakh region of Kashmir.

This morning police and soldiers pulled bodies from areas around Leh, the main town, but rescue efforts were hampered by torrential water and debris.

"Mud and water is everywhere," said Kashmiri businessman Kausar Makhdoomi, who was on holiday in Leh. "There was utter confusion and people started to panic."

Operations were stopped at Leh airport after it was badly damaged by the water, with parts of the runway washed away. Indian air force troopers were clearing the debris from the airstrip.

"At least 200 people are in the army hospital with injuries. And many more people are trapped under houses and buildings that have collapsed," said Ladakh state police chief Kuldeep Khoda.

Professor Shakeel Romshoo, a geologist at Kashmir University in Srinagar, said the deep channels had been cut in the mountain gorges of the region and flood waters had inundated low-lying areas.

"It's a challenging topography with steep and unstable slopes. Water flow and velocity being very high, the flash floods have caused huge damage," he said.

In Pakistan, six US army helicopters rescued about 800 people stranded by the flooding. About 30,000 Pakistan soldiers are rebuilding bridges, delivering food and setting up relief camps in the devastated north-west.

Up to 1,500 people have died and more than three million have been affected. Much of the destruction has come from the mighty Indus river, which bisects the country.